Loud-speaker unit



Nov. 20, 1928;

R. B. WHEELAN LOUD SPEAKER UNIT Filed -June 25. 1926 INVENTOR. MWL /3 f/Lbd BY i mj/Wr i 'Z ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. zo, 192s.

y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BOBERTTB. WHEELAN,OF N EW YORK, N. Y.

LOUD-smaken UNIT. V

applicati-en inea :une 2s, 192s. serial No. 117,925.

articles of this character as heretofore placed f onthe market.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a device of this type the arts of which may be readily and economicav ly manufactured, and which parts may be assembled by relatively unskilled labor, and when as sembled, ma be readily ad]usted to furnish the best quality of reproduction, aside from the fact that this device may be subjected to extremely hard usage without any damage occurring to the several parts thereof, or these parts becoming relatively disarranged.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises thev features of constructiomcombinatioii of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter .set forth, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should behad to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a cone speaker embodying the subject matter of the present invention` a portion of the cone being broken away to disclose the enclosed unit;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the unit as shown in 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the outer portion thereof;

Fig. 4 is a front view of the same with the cover removed therefrom;

Fig. 5 is a rear view of theI unit with the cone and connecting elements detached; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the invention embodied in a unit of slightly diil'erent construction. y,

In these several views the numeral 10 indicates the stand of the speaker, from which an arm 11 may extend upwardly, thisA arml ample, by the use of screws. Clamped besupporting a unit, the casing of which has been indicated at 12; and in the present embodiment a cone 13 is associated with the unit in a manner hereinafter brought out.

1 'With particular reference to Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive, the casing 12 ofthe unit is in the nature of a protecting member, within which a housing is disposed, this housing including a plate 14, to which a body member 15 is secured in any desirable manner, as, for extween the opposed faces of the plate and bod is an armature 16, a washer 17 beingpre erably provided adjacent the end edges thereof in order to assure an intimate gripping of these ortions of the armature. The

vlatter is pre erably' formed of a material having a certain inherent resiliency, and in its position of rest tends to lie in contact with the pole piecesv and an electromagnet 18. It will also be noted, as vin Fig. 4, that this armature in the present exemplication in rcludes a generall triangularlyfshaped body, the ends of whic are extended as at 19, and formed with openings, through which the screws securing'the plate to the body member may pass in order to provide a three-point suspension and prevent any relative displacement ofthe parts. 1

A rod 20 extends between the elements of the magnet 18 and is secured to the armature ata point centrally thereof, the outer end of this rod extending through an opening 21 `in the body 15. Secured to the latter, and

preferably at a point beyond the outer face of the saine, is a spring-strip 22, which is spaced from this outer face and is formed with a centrally-disposed opening, vwithin which o ening the inner end of a tube 23 is mounte the rod passingthrough this tube, and, in the present instance, extending to ay point slightly beyond 'the outer end .of the same.

In order to secure the cone body 13 to the tube the latter is interiorly threaded and a plug 24 is screwed into the bore of this tube 100 and is formed with a central opening 25, also through all of these openings when aligned and threaded into thev bore of the tube 23 and tightened to the position shown in Fi s. 2 and 3, in which it will be obvious that t e cone is clamped against movement with respect to the tube.

A set-screw 27 is introduced into the opening of the plug 24.- and is of a length sufficient to have its inner end contact with the outer end of the rod 20. As a consequence, if this Screw is `turned inwardly beyond'the point shown in Fig. 3, it will engage the end of the rod and force the armature away from the pole pieces of the magnets, this positioning of the parts resulting in a bowing of the spring-strip 22`in an opposite direction, the bending of the latter being increased as the set-screw is forced to a greater extent into the opening of the plug.

Thus, the cone has what might be termed `a floating suspension, the armature 16 being forced away from the pole pieces, the spring-strip being forced in an opposite direction, andthe cone being supported by the tube. It will be appreciated that, while in the showing in Fig. 2 this displacement of the lparts from the position which they normal seek has been accentuated, in actual practice the set-screw is to be adjusted merely to a point at which the armature is yieldingly retained at aI point barely s aced from the magnet pole pieces, under w ich conditions, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the best results are achieved.

In the unit shown in Fig. 6, the housing 28 encloses electromagnets 29 and mounts an armature 30, which has a certain inherent resiliency. A spring-strip 31 is mounted within this housing and carries a. tube 32, through the bore of which a rod 33 extends, the inner end of this rod being attached to the armature 30, and the opposite end thereof being screw-threaded and extending well beyond the outer end of the tube. This tube may have a portion mounting a resilient collar 34, which extends beyond the tube end and bears against washers corresponding to the washers 26 shown in the preceding gures, the outermost of these washers being engaged by a ring 35, which is in turn engageable by a nut 36 preferably having a knurled outer surface and mounted upon the sc1e\\'threads at the outer end of the rod 33.

The normal resiliency of the varmature 30 is such that it contacts with the pole pieces of the electromagnets. However, upon the nut 36 being tightened to bear aga-inst the ring 35 it will be obvious that the armature will be drawn away from these pole pieces to just the extent desired. In lieu of the cone, a. sheet of suit-able materia-1 Aof any desired shape may be used. although a parchmentflike sheet of cone shape is preferably employed. This cone has what might be termed a floating suspension, and

vtromagnet, sound-reproducing means includ- 1 obviously it will be actuated to respond to the impulses emanating from the passage of currents through the coils of themagnet. Even if subjected to rough usage, the cone will not be displaced with respect to its associated parts, and the latter will not be damaged.

At this time it will be understood, particularly with reference to the structure shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, that the principle of this invention might be applied to a reproducing unit not embracing Va cone. In other words, the armature, particularly if modified as toits shape, will act in a satisfactory manner as a diaphragm, in which case it will `be understood that suitable amplifying means may be associated with the unit for transmitting the sounds emanating from t-he armature-diaphragm if the unit is employed as a loud speaker.

Thus, among others, the objects of this invention have been accomplished, and since certain changes may 4be made in the above construction, and diiferent embodiments of the invention could be made, without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween. 100

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A reproducing unit, including an elecing a resilient armature adapted normally to extend in contact with the poles of said magnet, means for moving said armature to a position at which it is spaced from said pole pieces, a diaphragm, and a resilient element for operatively supporting said diaphragm disposed in operative conjunction with said means.

2. A reproducing unit, including an electromagnet, sound-reproducing means includ- 13, ing a resilient armature adapted'normally to extend in contact with thc poles of said magnet. means yieldingly urging said armature away from said pole pieces, a diaphragm, and a resilient element for operatively supporting said diaphragm disposed,` in operative conjunction with said means.

3. A reproducing unit, embracing an electromagnet, sound-reproducingl means includ ing resilient means responsive to variations 12.', in the magnetic-field, said latter means being positioned immediately adjacent the poles of said magnet. means for varying the distance between said second means and magnet poles,

a diaphragm, and a resilient element for operatively supporting said diaphragm disposed in operative conjunction with said means.

4. A reproducing unit, including, in combination, an electromagnet, sound-reproducing means including a resilient armature adapted normally to extendinto contact with the pole pieces of said electromagnet, means whereby said armature is yieldinglyurged into contact with the poles of said magnet, and resilient means for moving said armature away from said poles.

5. A reproducing unit, including, in combination, an electromagnet, sound-reproducing means including a. resilient armature adapted normally to extend into contact with the pole pieces of said electromagnet, means whereby said arma-ture is urged into contact with the magnet poles, a resilient support, and means cooperating with said support and said armature for yieldingly withdrawing said armature from contact with said poles.

6. A reproducing unit, including, in combination, an electromagnet, an armature having inherent resiliency tending to press the same into contact with the poles o said magnet, a. resilient support, and means connected with said support and armature for yieldingly urging the latter to a point spaced from said poles.

7 An electromagnet, including, in combination,an armature, means for supporting said armature, said armature having inherent resiliency urging the same into contact with the poles of said magnet, a. resilient support, a tube connected wit-h the same, and means connected with said tube and said support for yieldingly urging said armature out of contact with the poles of said magnet.

8. A reproducing unit, including an electromagnet, a resilient armature adapted to extend normally in contact with the poles thereof, said armature forming a. part of` sound-reproducing means, a.- resilient support, and means connected with said armature and said support for varying the position of the latter to yieldingly urge said armature to a position spaced from the poles of said magnet.

9. A reproducing unit, including anelectromagnet, a resilient armature adapted to extend normally in contact with the poles thereof. means for supporting said armature. the lat-ter having inherent resiliency and tending to be in contact with the poles of said magnet, a spring-strip, means for connecting said strip with said armature, and mea-ns for tensioning said elements to yieldingly draw saild arma-ture out of contact with the magnet 10. A reproducing unit, including an electromagnet, an armature, means for supporting said armature, the latter having inherent resiliency and tending to be in contact with the poles of said magnet, a spring-strip, a

tube connected with said spring, a rod connected with said armature, and. means connecting said rod and tube to yieldinglyfdraw said armature out of contact with the magnet poles.

11. A reproducing unit, including an electromagnet, an armature, means for supporting said armature, the latter having inherent resiliency and tending to be in contact with the poles of said magnet, a spring-strip, a tube connected with said spring, a rod connected with said armature and extending through said tube, and means connected with' said tube and rod to move the armature to a position at which it is yieldingly spaced from the magnet poles.

12. A reproducing unit, including an electromagnet. sound-reproducing means including a resilient armature normally tending to lie in contact with the poles of said magnet, av rod secured to said armature, a resilient member, and a screw-threaded member connecting said rod with sai-d resilient member whereby said armature may be yieldingly drawn out of contact with the magnetpoles.

13. A reproducing unit, including an electromagnet, a resilient armature, means for mounting said armature, said armature having inherent resiliency tending to bring the same in contact with the poles of said magnet, a resilient mounting member, a. sheet of material associated with said mounting mem'- ber, and means connecting said armature with sai-d member lto yieldingly draw the former away from the poles of said magnet.

14. A reproducing unit, including, in combination, an elect-romagnet, a resilient armature, means for mounting said armature in contact with the poles of said magnet, a resilient mounting member, a sheet of material associated with said mounting member, and means for connecting said armature with said mounting member to yieldingly draw the former away from the poles of said magnet.

15. A reproducing unit, including in combination, an electromagnet, an armature, means for mounting said armature in contact with the poles of said magnet, a strip of material provi-ding a mounting member, a tube connected with said strip, a rod connected with said armature and extending'through said tube, a sheet of material connected withv said tube, and means for adjustably connecting said rod with' said tube to yieldingly draw rod having one of its ends connected with y said armature, its body extending through said tube and its opposite end beyond the end of the same. a sheet of material connected with said tube, and means exerting pressure upon the tube and movin saidl rod axially o the same to draw sai armature out of contact with the poles of said magnet.

17. A reproducing unit, including an elec troma et, a housing therefor, a triangularlyshape armature, the ends of the same being extended, means for mounting said ends to a'ord a three-point suspension for saidarmature, a rod having its inner end connected with said armature, a tube encirclin said rod, a strip of, material mounting sai tube, said rod extending through the-tube,a sheet of material secured to said tube, and mean's for exertingwpressure against the end of said rod to push said armature out of contact with the magnet poles.

18. A reproducing unit, including an electromagnet, an armature, means for mounting the latter in contact with the poles of the' for mer, a rod connected with said armature, a tube encircling said rod, a strip of material mounting said tube, a cone secured to the tube, and means connected with the tube and adjustable to exert a bearing ressure against the end of said rod to push, said armature away from the pole ieces of said magnet.

19. A sound-repr ucing unit comprising an electro-responsive means rigidly supported and having a cooperating resilient member movabl mounted with res t to said means, a soun -reproducing dia ragm, and a resilient supporting member for said diaphragm, and means for operatively connecting said resilient members whereb said members form a resilient system for vi rating said dia hragm. g

n testimony whereof I atlix m si ature.

ROBERT B. W EE N. 4 

